Ministers drawing up plans to crack down on Brits being signed off work long term
MINISTERS are drawing up plans to crack down on long term sick notes to encourage more Brits to stay in work.
Job centres could also move in with GP surgeries into new hubs to encourage closer working.
A record 2.5 million Brits have dropped out of the workforce because they are on long-term sickness, official figures show.
Meanwhile, many pubs, restaurants and shops cannot find enough staff because of a massive labour shortage.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has launched an inquiry to see how to keep more people in work.
One of the ideas batted around Whitehall is changing how sick notes work to make it clearer that staff should be helped by bosses to stay in work if at all possible.
A Whitehall source said: “Having a job is good for people’s mental and physical health. Ministers are looking at how health and job centres can work more closely together.
“This would all be about helping people stay in work where possible.”
Karl Williams, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, said: “Britain is languishing at the bottom of international league tables when it comes to getting people back into the workforce after the pandemic.
“Every other G7 nation is doing better than us, and of the 37 OECD countries, only Switzerland, Chile and Colombia are struggling more than the UK.
“With recessionary headwinds gathering force, it is more important than ever that we work out why so many people are unable or unwilling to work compared to so many other countries.”